The Four Pillars of Recruiting

(On vacation this week. This article reposted from May 20, 2011)

The knee-jerk reaction to describing essential elements of a function is to think of the columns holding up some massive structure. This is understood to be a symbol of strength. A very supportive person is known as a “pillar of strength.” While somewhat overused by business to show the strength of ideas, it also has the ability to show how complicated situations can be simplified into a few basic support structures. Recruiting is a perfect example of a complex function that can be better understood in a simplified model of columns. If you perform research on different staffing models you will find countless organizational structures on which companies base their recruiting efforts. These can range from a simple one-person (or less) function, a hierarchical team, or a complex functional matrix organization. There are variations depending on the degree of centralization or decentralization of the company. The underlying basic principles of recruiting apply in small companies, large companies or agencies. The reason it is necessary to add one more definition to something which is already so well defined is because of extended concepts like asking jobseekers to think like recruiters. They need to know the perspective that created those teaching points. Concepts such as considering the value of the sourcing function to the recruiting effort requires knowledge of how it relates to, and is different from, other aspects of the process.

When you think about all the organizational charts or theory concepts you have seen, whether they are shown as a 20 point wheel or 2 boxes on a chart they all have these basic pillars of thought holding up the recruiting function:

1. Sourcing – Of course the recruiting process is cyclical, but taken in isolation the beginning of any staffing campaign is sourcing candidates to meet some requirement. Ordinarily, it is not the job of the recruiter/sourcer to write job descriptions, fine tune the details of the specs or determine the “must haves” and “nice to haves” in the pursuit of talent. It is the recruiter’s job to uncover these things. Workforce planning is the job of someone else, either in HR or management, but the sourcer must clearly understand these points in boring and gory detail to peel back the layers of the onion and get at the heart of what makes a good employee for every position. The success or failure of a recruiting campaign begins here. Like a surveyor measuring a line of sight, only a fraction of a degree off target can move the end point by miles. If a recruiter complains that they do not have time to source properly, they are really saying that either they don’t want to source, don’t know how to source, or the organization is placing too many other burdens on them. To expect the door to open on a new position and the perfect candidate to walk through leaves way too much to chance for consistently positive results. In an age of specialization, this is the one area of the staffing process that can operate efficiently as a separate entity if clear hand-off rules are established. There are factors that influence how sourcing as a service works and there are many opinions on the value of sourcing as a specialty, but you don’t go to a proctologist for a toothache. If the situation requires dedicated internal or external sourcing expertise you won’t have to look far to find someone not only skilled in the complexities of sourcing, but who is also excited by the thrill of the chase.
2. Relationship Management – What is the value of a human resources degree in recruiting? Reality shows that someone educated in marketing, education or psychology can do just as well or maybe even better. This is not to say that knowledge of human resources is not important, but experience in technical areas or other left brain activities produces excellent recruiting talent as well. Regardless of formal training or experience, possessing the knack to work magic with people is the key to making the process work. Recruiting magic requires managing interpersonal relationships at all levels. The two most prevalent relationships are the internal interface with hiring managers and the external contact with candidates for employment. Hiring managers know the skill set of person they want for the job, however their expertise lies in some area other than recruiting (whether they know it or not). Someone experienced in this area has to translate across all departments in the company and communicate knowledge about how the process works most efficiently. The culture of an organization is only as good as it is implemented by management, so while hiring for skills is the predominant requirement, the value of organizational fit can’t be overlooked. The recruiter is usually in the best position to referee the struggle between nepotism/discrimination/favoritism and merit/diversity/collaboration. Externally, the recruiter manages the expectations of candidates with regard to the detailed requirements of the job, the skills required to perform that job and the interface with the environment of the job. Expectations also include the timing of feedback and closure. Much has been said and written about the elusive concept of a “candidate experience,” but the truth is that all candidates will have an experience…the kind of experience is usually a mark of how well the recruiters do their job. Both internally and externally, the recruiter must be able to communicate negative information and know how to defuse conflict. Disagreements regarding candidate selection have to be resolved without creating discord in the department. Candidates who are not selected for a position should be given a firm “no” answer tempered with compassion to their situation.
3. Administration – Everyone has seen the motivational (?) poster of the toilet paper roll with the caption, “The job is never finished until the paperwork is done.” This is a great point because the volume of administrative tasks in recruiting is daunting! From a strategic viewpoint, gathering metrics, analyzing processes and reporting results to management can only be done well by someone extremely knowledgeable in the recruiting process. Speaking from a more tactical viewpoint, a candidate does not become an employee unless someone takes care of all the seemingly endless tasks of making it happen. This is a thankless job because there is so little margin for error. It is an understatement to say that attention to detail is critical. A great selection, interview and offer experience can form a positive impression in the mind of the candidate, but forget any part of payroll, benefits, security or other essential tasks and the situation can go downhill rapidly. The term orientation and onboarding are distinctly different aspects of the process, but when handled by knowledgeable experts there can be a much more positive image of the new company, a lessening of the culture shock and elimination of “buyer’s remorse” after committing to join the company. Unfortunately, administration is the least exciting part of staffing work and isn’t very sexy. Just like that subject in college that you had no interest in taking, it is easy to get a “D” in administration for lack of interest or effort. To give the organization a grade of “A+” these tasks are often given to specialists who take over the nuts and bolts of the back-end process. There is an obvious downside to this: Tossing this responsibility over the transom for someone else does not eliminate the need for the recruiter to be involved. Feedback continues throughout the gap between making the offer and starting the job. Often, the recruiter, not the hiring manager, will be the person called if there are problems in the process. After hire, it is not uncommon for the recruiter to continue to be considered the expert in everything to do with HR, Payroll or other things that are beyond the scope of the recruiter job. It probably goes without saying that post-hire follow-up to improve the process is an essential part of the job.
4. Trabranketing – The recruiter’s job description usually doesn’t include this specific term, but trabranketing is a fourth major pillar that holds up the roof. Forgive me if I take some liberties with coining a new word here, but I could find no really good term to explain how Training, Branding and Marketing join together to make a successful recruiting department. This could be considered to overlap with the three other pillars, but together they form an essential part of the support structure. It goes way beyond the ongoing relationship management duties and requires the recruiter to have the passion to go to the next level…to become a missionary for the cause. Training as a service will functionally belong somewhere else in the organization, but the recruiter daily trains managers on processes, use of applicant tracking systems and the logistics of interviewing. Members of interviewer teams may be able to get formal interviewer training as a part of an overall company training program, but it is usually the recruiter who gives ad hoc instruction to a new manager or provides mini-classes before a round of interviews. This goes way beyond the typical management of the relationship between manager and recruiter as it is not intended to instruct a single manager but to insure uniformity of practices and conformity to company policies. Branding is usually a higher level public relations function of the company, but even if the staffing organization is not formally included in company branding programs the establishment, execution and maintenance of a recruiting brand has to come from the recruiter. Determining the direction of the recruiting brand may be more of a project oriented assignment or performed at the strategic level of thinking. On the other hand, insuring that negative branding trends or issues contrary to the company brand are tasks which happen daily on the recruiter’s desk. Recruiting is also a marketing and sales effort since there is always the need to fine tune the pitch to each candidate and recognize the specific close required to seal the deal. Internally, there has to be some value added by the recruiter to the selection process through providing interview feedback and performing interview follow-up sessions. Selling the best candidate who will become the best employee is a way of insuring that the final selection is not just a quick-fix technical match to a job description.

Recruiters love a good hunt, so I would encourage all to study processes outside of your own environment. This keeps things fresh and sharpens the outlook for improvement. Many key leaders in sourcing and staffing have performed in-depth studies on how to improve the typical staffing organization and have published those online and in books. If you look hard enough you will also get a glimpse into the future of recruiting by studying where it has been and where the experts see it going. Be ready!

 
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